Joe Biden told a Michigan plant worker he was ‘full of s***’ and to ‘not be such a horse’s a**’ after the man accused the former vice president of being anti-Second Amendment and wanting to take Americans’ guns away.
With Democratic voters from Michigan and five other states heading to the polls as part of ‘Super Tuesday 2,’ Biden was visiting a Fiat Chrysler plant in Detroit Tuesday morning before heading to Ohio where he’ll watch results come in and address supporters.
In video captured by CBS News, a man dressed in a hard hat can be heard telling Biden he’s actively trying to end our Second Amendment right and take away our guns.’
Joe Biden told a Michigan plant worker he was ‘full of s***’ and to ‘not be such a horse’s a**’ after the worker accused the former vice president of being anti-Second Amendment and wanting to take away Americans’ guns
Biden, who in the last 10 days has cemented his position as Democratic frontrunner, then responded with an expletive.
As another individual jumps in, Biden can be heard telling the person ‘shush.’
‘I support the Second Amendment,’ Biden then said.
He then explained that like yelling ‘fire’ in a building, like First Amendment freedoms, Second Amendment freedoms are also not absolute.
‘I have a shotgun, I have a 20-gauge, a 12-gauge, my sons hunt,’ Biden continued. ‘Guess what? You’re not allowed to own any weapons. I’m not taking your gun away, at all. Do you need 100 rounds?’
The plant worker stood his ground, saying
‘I did not say that. That’s not true,’ Biden responded. ‘I did not say that,’ Biden said, his voice getting louder.
The worker responded that he saw Biden make comments limiting gun ownership in a video.
‘Well, it’s a viral video like the other ones that they’re putting out, which are simply a lie,’ the former vice president answered.
Biden then said he would take ‘AR-14s,’ meaning AR-15s, away.
‘Don’t be such a horse’s ass,’ Biden told the man before walking away.
The man was likely referencing a video Biden made with former Democratic hopeful Beto O’Rourke after the ex-Texas congressman endorsed him last week in the run-up to ‘Super Tuesday.’
Sitting down at Whataburger with O’Rourke and his wife Amy, Biden talked about bringing O’Rourke into the fold. ‘And by the way, this guy can change the face of what we’re dealing with, with regard to guns – assault weapons – with regard to dealing with climate change, and I just want – I’m warning Amy, if I win, I’m coming for him,’ Biden said, according to a Politifact.
Because O’Rourke had previously said on the Democratic debate stage, ‘hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,’ the clip was widely misinterpreted as Biden making the same pledge.
At the Dallas rally where O’Rourke made his endorsement, Biden also pledged to put the Texan in charge of gun control.
‘You’re going to take care of the gun problem with me. You’re going to be the one who leads this effort,’ Biden said then.
O’Rourke’s endorsement was part of a 10-day turnaround for Biden’s campaign. Biden won South Carolina and then beat Bernie Sanders in 10 of 14 Super Tuesday states.
Afterward he continued to get a flurry of endorsements including from ex-rivals Michael Bloomberg, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.
Six more states vote Tuesday including Michigan, where Joe Biden had an altercation with a factory worker, as well as Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Missouri and Mississippi
Joe Biden gained back his frontrunner status after winning in South Carolina and then in 10 Super Tuesday states. He’s also been boosted by high-profile endorsements including from Sen. Kamala Harris (left), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (center right) and Sen. Cory Booker (right)
On Tuesday Biden and Sanders are on the ballots in Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho, North Dakota and Washington state.
With Biden cementing his frontrunner status, Sanders needs something to change the narrative and he’s hoping Michigan – like the state did in 2016 – will give him that opportunity.
In 2016, Sanders was down by an average of 21.4 points to Hillary Clinton in Michigan polls when his suprise win – by just 1.4 per cent – poured new energy into his campaign.
In 2020, the Real Clear Politics polling average shows Sanders down by 22.4 points to Biden in Michigan.
That hasn’t deterred Sanders, who’s spent the last few days in the state.
On Friday, he held a Detroit rally with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents the city in Congress and is one of the four members of the so-called Democratic ‘squad.’
On Saturday, he held a town hall on ‘racial and economic justice’ in Flint, Michigan, known for its water troubles.
On Sunday, he was joined on the campaign trail again by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, another member of the ‘squad.’ They rallied together in Ann Arbor, the home of the University of Michigan.
Then on Monday, Sanders held a coronavirus town hall with public health experts, among other events.
Talking to Chris Cuomo on CNN Monday night, Sanders predicted he could win the state again. He also argued that his large, loud crowd meant he would be best positioned to take on President Trump in the general election.
‘Does anyone really believe, let me throw it out to you, you know this stuff, that a campain like Joe’s, which is frankly the same-old, same-old establishment politics, supported by the wealthy, and they got all the governors and senators supporting them, does anybody really think that that is going to be the campaign of excitement and energy that’s going to grow the base that we need to defeat Trump?’ Sanders mused. ‘I don’t think so.’
But Democrats, in an almost unprecedented way, have gotten behind Biden.
And the former vice president is aware that if he wins Michigan, he’s basically ended the race for Sanders.
On Monday night, he held his own Detroit rally where he held hands with Harris and Booker – who made their endorsements official – and the state’s governor, the up-and-coming Gretchen Whitmer.
But the rally wasn’t without drama, as a group of anti-NAFTA protesters heckled the vice president.
He told his crowd the ‘Bernie Bros are here.’
Another larger group of pro-Green New Deal activists – a concept Sanders supports – – also showed up. Politico reported that Biden’s senior adviser Symone Sanders, who was Bernie Sanders’ 2016 press secretary, got hit in the head with an iPad and knocked down. She wasn’t injured.
Symone Sanders also wrestled a Vegan activist off the stage at Biden’s ‘Super Tuesday’ primary night event in Los Angeles, California last week.
It wasn’t personal to Biden, as protesters from the same group interrupted an Elizabeth Warren event in Los Angeles the night before.
While not a lot of polling has been conducted in Washington, Sanders’ campaign could get a boost there.
However, he won’t have the same advantage he did in 2016, as Washington is holding a primary Tuesday instead of a caucus.
Four years ago when Democrats caucused for their presidential pick, Sanders won overwhelmingly – 72.7 per cent to Clinton’s 27.1 per cent.
Now in the state, Biden has had a slight lead in polls taken this month, while Sanders was leading in February surveys.
Also, just like on Super Tuesday when Sanders eventually won the biggest delegate prize – California – the narrative for the night had already been set, that Biden was the big winner.
Additionally, Washington state also has mail-in balloting, which means results could be slow to come in.
A big outstanding question mark for ‘Super Tuesday 2’ is where Warren’s voters will find a home.
President Trump – trying to sow discord among the Democrats – blamed Warren for Sanders’ underwhelming Super Tuesday showing. ‘Our modern day Pocahontas won’t go down in history as a winner, but she may very well go down as the all time great SPOILER!’ Trump tweeted Wednesday.
The president suggested that while moderates like Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, who dropped out and endorsed Biden before Super Tuesday, cleared the way for the former veep, Warren paid no such courtesy to Sanders, a fellow progressive.
So far she hasn’t gotten behind either Sanders nor Biden.
On Tuesday, Sanders surrogates continued to press the point.
‘I deeply respect @Ewarren,’ tweeted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, one of the only ex-2020 hopefuls to have endorsed Sanders. ‘Our nation + our party are better + more progressive because of her leadership. Now our progressive movement needs her more than ever.’
‘Senator, if the shoe was on the other foot @BernieSanders would have endorsed you already. Please join us!’ de Blasio wrote.
As the votes come in Tuesday night, Biden and Sanders are already looking ahead.
They’re both holding campaign events Tuesday night in Cleveland, Ohio.
Voters in Ohio – along with Arizona, Florida and Illinois – head to the polls in a week.
And the two remaining mainstream candidates – as Tulsi Gabbard is still technically in the race – will debate each other in Phoenix, Arizona Sunday night.